We are lucky here in South Australia, we do get some of the best seafood in Australia and arguably, the world. I have travelled a bit and there is no other place where you can get so much variety of seafood with such freshness. The unique waters of the Spencer Gulf is home to many things we love to eat that come from the sea including the Spencer Gulf King Prawns. Tasty buggers and the size and quality is unmatched. Prized for it’s fleshy meat and sweet flavour, the prawn is one the biggest I have seen, consistently!
Category: Recipes
Braised Pork Belly
Braised Pork with Udon Noodles & Spring onion & Black Vinegar Dressing
Serve6
What is it about braised pork? I love it but I guess it is because I grew up with it. In Filipino cooking, braised pork is a norm, like in adobo or sinigang, a dish cooked in tangy clear broth seasoned with tamarind juice, a dish so clean in flavours, light and not too “porky”. Seriously, you can braise pork and drink the juice!?!? Think about it, you wouldn’t drink the juice off a roast pork now would you?
Adobo – WARNING once you start eating this, you won’t be able to stop……………
One of the best things to eat is a Filipino chicken Adobo! Adobo is as Filipino as it can get, it’s like the curry is as Indian as it gets and tacos are as Mexican as it can get. If you ask “Filo’s” what a typical Filo dish would be, most will say Adobo. Teamed with garlic fried rice, all you’ll need is warm weather and straw hutts and you’ll think you were in the Philippines.
Continue reading “Adobo – WARNING once you start eating this, you won’t be able to stop……………”
Laksa
Laksa
What can I say about this wonderful, coconutty, spicy broth of goodness? Teamed with wonderful garnishes such as yellow egg noodle, chicken, prawns, tofu, bean sprouts and plenty of fresh Asian herbs, it’s a heart warmer in winter and so easy to make in large quantities for when the friends drop by or to have for lunch the next day, after all the flavour only gets better the next day. Make a large batch of the paste and freeze it, in readiness for next time, either way it’s a non-complicated dish loved by every one.
Photo by Jun Pang
For the Paste
What the paste looks like with the rest of the ingredients
250 gr Candle Nuts
8 Large Brown Onions – peeled and quartered
250 gr Garlic – peeled
½ cup Dry Shrimp Paste (Belacan) – wrapped in foil and toasted on dry pan
2 cups Large Dry Chilli – deseeded and reconstituted in warm water
300 gr Galangal – roughly peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
60 gr Fresh Turmeric (or dried) – cut into smaller pieces
For the Broth
10 Cans Coconut Milk
5 litres Chicken Stock
8 Lemon Grass – stems removed and stalks bruised
10 Lime Leaves
500 ml Tamarind Water
100 ml Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
100 gr Coriander Seeds – toasted and finely ground
For the Garnish
Hokkien Noodle
Bean Sprout
Prawns – cooked & shelled preferably
Fired Tofu Puffs – cut in halves
Chicken Breast – par steamed/boiled and cut or stripped into “chopstick” friendly sizes
Coriander Leaves
Laksa Mint
Thai Basil
Method
- “Split” the cans of coconut into cream and milk. This is better done when the cans have been refrigerated for at least 45 minutes, this separates the “cream”, which floats to the top and solidifies and can be easily extracted with a spoon and the clear “milk” to the bottom, which you reserve for later use.
- Heat a large stockpot to high heat.
- Place all the ingredients for the paste in a blender and blend to a fine paste.
- Place 1 cup of vegetable oil in the pot then immediately followed by the separated coconut “cream” (taking care because it will splatter).
- Add the paste to the pot and cook/fry for around 20-25 minutes or until the aromas coming out of the pot are less pungent and take on a more “sweeter” aroma.
This tells us that the natural sugars in the ingredients used are caramelising, taking over from the raw pungent smell. This also indicates correct doneness of the paste.
- Add the chicken stock, lemon grass, lime leaves and ground coriander and reduce this by a 1/4.
- Add coconut milk and continue reducing to a half
- Reduce the heat and add the tamarind water (to balance acidity) and season with fish sauce in replacement of salt. Add to taste.
- For the composition, add as little or as much of the ingredients listed in the garnishes in a deep soup bowl. Pour hot laksa broth over the contents of the noodles and garnish with fresh coriander leaves, laksa mint and Thai basil leaves.
This recipe makes around 5 litres of laksa, enough to freeze in smaller batches for next time. Its is also worth noting that the paste can be prepared and frozen for long periods of time, which also makes cooking a delicious meal seem easy.
Photo by Jun Pang
Belacan – is a common ingredient in Asian cooking especially in South East Asia. Made from tiny little shrimp which has been fermented, dried and formed into little blocks for sale. It has many names, like ngapi, terasi and in Filipino, it’s called bagoong! Belecan is dried and to make it a little more falvoursome, you toast it first on a hot surface, usually wrapped in foil to avoid the smell being so bad!
One type of Belacan wrapping
Belacan toasted in foil in a dry pan until change in colour – Warning very smelly
Galangal – is part of the ginger family. It is woody in texture and you must use a sharp knife to use it. It has a “pine” smell and flavour. Used in mostly in curries and sauces, predominantly in In Thai, Vietnamese and in Malaysian cooking.
Candle Nuts – Used mainly in Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. High in oils, it is used to thicken sauces/soups. They are round in colour and are similar to a macadamia nut (as in Australia) and usually used as a substitute for when candle nuts are not available.
Tamarind Water – sold commercially in bottles, it is tamarind pulp soaked in water and the juice squeezed out to get tamarind water. Usually used to season food to add the tangy, earthy and zesty flavour to a dish. In this case it helps to soften or cut through the richness in the coconut cream.
Tamarind Water
Fish Sauce – a pungent, fishy smelling golden brown liquid made from fermented fish. It is used in South East Asian cooking for seasoning or as part of an ingredient in dipping sauces which imparts the umami flavour due to the high glutamate content . It is known by many different names such as patis (Philippines), nam pla (Thai) and many more, with each Asian country having their own version
One type of fish sauce, Golden Boy Brand is my favourite to use in curries
Congee – Chicken and Ginger
Filipino’s call it “lugaw” but most people know it as “congee”
It is by far the easiest thing to cook and it was definitely one of the first things I picked just by watching my mum and my grandma cook this dish. It is a dish that my mum cooks on a cold winter’s day, especially for lunch. It’s filling, tasty and it warms the body really quickly. Traditionally the Chinese have this as a breakfast meal. As the name translates to rice porridge, it’s usually served plain with condiments like soy sauce, spring onion, ginger and steamed chicken. Brilliant way to start the day!
A memorable breakfast….
I had a very good friend who cooked me this dish one morning for breakfast. It doesn’t happen often but what a way to wake up, to the smell of a cooked breakfast. I’m lucky that she was a talented chef, I was expecting a fried egg but I was surprised with such an amazing and yet easy dish. The beauty of this dish is that she used ingredients that were in the fridge. Apart from a few other bits like chorizo, every thing else was left over ingredients that needed to be used up and it didn’t take long to prepare or cook, literally minutes. Served straight out of the pan it also saved on cleaning time, ingenious because if you can save on cleaning time and come up with an amazing meal, then you’re all right in my books!!
Hot, aromatic Sri Lankan Kottu Roti…..
Sri Lanka is a food wonderland! I had the opportunity to cook in Sri Lanka last year in our sister hotel. There I met over 170 chefs in one hotel and I learnt so much about cooking in such a short time. There were over 17 food and beverage outlets, all ranging from Japanese cuisine right through to Italian and fine dining so you can imagine the talent in these kitchens and the knowledge all in one place, to me I was like a kid in a toy store and I didn’t know where to turn to next.
Risotto’s takes practice but the reward is satisfying, especially in winter!
Cooking risotto’s is easily put into the “too hard” basket! I’m here to tell you that, not only is it easy to make but it is also really inexpensive. Depending on what you decide to put in it, it is one of the cheapest and tastiest meals you can cook for your family or for your self. As you get confident with flavours and cooking risotto’s, experiment by using different indgredients and adding different elements of flavours into it. I like creamy risotto’s but hey, if you like it lighter, finish off with a nice Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead of cream, lighten it up with zesting oranges and lemons into it. The versions are endless, use your imagination and use the indgredients in season for freshness and to cut down on the shopping docket!
Continue reading “Risotto’s takes practice but the reward is satisfying, especially in winter!”
A recipe for my nephew Aidan!!
Prawn and Pork Wanton Soup with Egg Noodles and Bok Choy
Serves 4
Making gnocchi is quite relaxing!
Potato Gnocchi with Blue Cheese, Olives and Tomatoes
Serve 4